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We are pleased to announce the publication of IPC One Pager #46, “Wage Cutting in Kenya Will Expand Poverty, Not Decent Jobs”. The authors, Robert Pollin, Mwangi wa Githinji and James Heintz of the Political Economy Research Institute, debunk the view of some economists that excessive labour costs—due to high wages or labour-market rigidities—impede the growth of productive employment in low-income countries such as Kenya. Using recent household-level data, they show that cutting wages would only expand the number of jobs with poverty-level wages. They also show that there is no credible evidence to believe that either unions or minimum-wage laws contribute to making the labour market in Kenya more rigid.



Available online at: http://www.undp-povertycentre.org/pub/IPCOnePager46.pdf


This One Pager is part of the ongoing Research Programme on “Economic Policies, MDGs and Poverty”, which is a joint effort among IPC, the Political Economy Research Institute and the Centre for Development Policy and Research.



Also, please refer to the full national report, “An Employment-Targeted Economic Program for Kenya”, posted on both IPC’s and PERI’s website, from which this One Pager is derived.





Other IPC publications at: http://www.undp-povertycentre.org/ipcpublications.htm